Wisconsin Divorce Residency Requirements

To file a divorce in Wisconsin you must fulfill the following requirements: Either the husband or the wife must be a Wisconsin resident a minimum of 6 months and immediately prior to filing must reside in the county they file for divorce for the last 30 days.

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To file a divorce in Wisconsin specific residency requirements must be met.^[1] For a court to have jurisdictional rights to oversee a divorce case, proof of the following must be provided: One spouse must be a Wisconsin resident for a minimum of 6 months and a current resident of the county they file for a minimum of 30 days.

So What Counts? If you can answer yes to the following questions, you meet the Wisconsin residency requirements and can file a petition for divorce in your current county:

Have I been considered a legal resident of Wisconsin for the last six months?
Have I been considered a legal resident of the Wisconsin county I am filing my divorce for the last 30 days?

Fail to Meet Residency Requirements? If residency requirements CAN NOT be met one of the following can be done to proceed with a divorce:

Establish legal residency^[2] in Wisconsin and wait to meet the residency requirement to file a divorce
Convince your spouse to file if they meet the requirements
Get divorced in another state where you meet the residency requirements (all states are unique, so check their residency requirements)

For Immediate help with your family law case or answering any questions please call (262) 221-8123 now!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is required to be a resident of Wisconsin?

To be a resident of Wisconsin in terms of divorce, you must have lived in Wisconsin for at least six months.

How long do you have to live in Wisconsin to be a resident?

You have to be in Wisconsin for six months to be considered a resident. It doesn’t matter if that time is spent in more than one county.

What determines residency in Wisconsin?

The only thing that determines residency for a divorce is how long you have lived in the state. You need to be a resident to get a divorce because the court needs to have jurisdiction over the case.